The U.S. carried out a drone strike in Baghdad late Wednesday that killed three members of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia – including a high-ranking commander connected with a drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan late last month.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said forces conducted a unilateral strike in Iraq around 9:30 p.m. in response to a drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan on Jan. 28.
The strike, which occurred on a main thoroughfare in Baghdad’s Mashtal neighborhood, was considered a “high-value individual target,” Fox News is told.
People inspect the vehicle targeted by airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq on February 07, 2024. (Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu via Getty Images)
One of those killed is believed to be Wissam Mohammed “Abu Bakr” al-Saadi, the commander in charge of Kataib Hezbollah’s operations in Syria, according to Reuters.
CENTCOM said there are no indications of collateral damage or civilian casualties at this time.
“The United States will continue to take necessary action to protect our people,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “We will not hesitate to hold responsible all those who threaten our forces’ safety.”
People inspect the vehicle targeted by airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq on February 07, 2024. (Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The strike came days after the U.S. military launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria controlled by Iranian-backed militias in retaliation for the Jan. 28 drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan.
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The U.S. has blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a broad coalition of Iran-backed militias, for that attack and officials have said they suspect Kataib Hezbollah of leading it.
People inspect the vehicle targeted by airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq on February 07, 2024. ( Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has regularly claimed strikes on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for U.S. support of Israel in its ongoing offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
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Kataib Hezbollah had said in a statement that it was suspending attacks on American troops to avoid “embarrassing the Iraqi government” after the strike in Jordan, but others have vowed to continue fighting.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
